Due August 2021 - the final countdown!

[Daffodil21]

Continuation of the previous thread.

All newcomers welcome!

Not long now!!!

Fully vaxed, ladies! So relieved tbh. Fingers crossed it won't affect me much this time either, it would be challenging with all my other aches, pains and moans 😆🤞 xx

@wimbler - where as I went s*it 1/100 chance baby will be here next week, maybe I should be slowing down a bit more!

@PurplePansy05 I felt even less after my second dose! Only an aching arm but nowhere near as bad as the first time! My husband, of course, was a complete melt about it 😂 hope yours is ok!

@Daffodil21 it was the same here. Dh had his on Wednesday and is still complaining about his sore arm 🙈
I did take paracetamol the evening after it and when I got up the following morning but more as the nurse giving it here recommended that as she said it could give headaches or temp so to take it as a preventative measure

@wimbler less than an 8% chance for me 😭 come on baby, get a move on!!

This weather is just far too hot now - I was in the shop earlier and there were literally no ice lollies left at all, I could have cried. But I'm seeing a friend who I haven't seen in nearly 18 months so that'll be lovely

Yesterday was unbelievably warm .. we have a little cloud cover now and again today which is making it slightly more bearable ... and I'm sitting with my feet in ds paddling moo

Today has made me realise how close I actually am to giving birth as I have had a couple of episodes today of really strong movements and tightenings along with the feeling of something falling out of my vagina 😅😅

@lucyrp 😂😂

Does anyone have any audio book suggestions for looking after baby, birth or anything else related? I thought I had cancelled my Audible but didn't so have 5 credits to use up!

I can’t remember who it was, but I remember someone asking about the Elvie pump. Did you ever end up buying it? I’ve found a secondhand one for pretty cheap so not sure whether to buy it or not as it has mixed reviews!

@Magik01 my understanding was that the elvie is great if you need a wireless pump, so if you have other children or are working but that they’re not as good at actually pumping as a mains connected one. I had the medela swing last time round and found it really good

@Magik01 I talked about it whenever it was discussed previously and how I know most people haven't got on with it as a primary pump, the only thing with buying second hand is the warranty/guarantee can't be passed on so if anything does go wrong with it that's it where as if you buy new my understanding is they're pretty good at sending new parts etc

@wimbler yeah, that’s what I thought. I have a toddler so I know there’s no way I would be able to sit attached to a plug for 30 mins at a time. Thought it might be good for that reason.

@lucyrp I didn’t know the warranty couldn’t be passed on to be fair. But a lady has said she would tell me her single pump for £55 and said she will show it me working first. I mean that’s £200 cheaper than new so I’m very very tempted. I could probably sell it for more as well if it didn’t work out maybe?

@Magik01 it's completely up to you, that does sound a very good price almost too good! Must second hand ones j looked at we're around £100 or more. As long as you don't expect much from it then anything you do get from it will be a bonus! Definitely could sell on as long as it works fine

Car seat base is in! I am going to wash the covers although not today.

Books I've been enjoying recently/old favourites in the birth/early parenting genre:

Birth Skills by Juju Sundin
The Positive Birth Book by Milli Hill
Mixed Up by Lucy Ruddle
Informed is Best by Amy Brown
Still Awake by Lyndsay Hookway (This is sleep for 18m+ but it's really really good!)
The No Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns by Elizabeth Pantley
Your Baby Skin To Skin by Rachel Fitz-Desorgher (I haven't read much of this yet and I'm not sure about it, but seems quite a good primer if you haven't had a baby before - combo of "trust your instincts" and advice)
The Continuum Concept (this is batty but brilliant. Old hippy parenting book from the 70s! Probably not up to date but better that way)
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

Along similar lines but not read:
The Positive Breastfeeding Book by Amy Brown
Let's Talk About Your New Family's Sleep by Lyndsay Hookway (she's better IMO than Elizabeth Pantley, but I don't know what this book is like, just that it's the version from birth).
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (maybe not great for the first weeks/months bit but on my list)

Actually any of the Let's Talk About... series from Pinter & Martin, anything by Amy Brown likely to be good.

Fingers crossed for really good aircon in the hospitals 🤞

Congrats to all those who’ve just been double vaxxed 💉 especially if you had minimal symptoms. I went to bed for like six hours after mine, exhausted, but that may just have been pregnancy now I think of it….!

@BertieBotts I’m a bit intimidated by how much reading you’ve done…

A probably really obvious recommendation: I did The Baby Academy two hour course yesterday. Really recommend for anyone wanting a primer on basica. You’re probably all much more organised than me and have done it already…

Well I am on my third baby, I didn't read them all for the first time this time :o About half of that first list are books I read with previous babies and about a quarter of them I haven't actually finished yet.

But I am a really fast reader and tend to go through things too quickly, then I want more, I have always been like that. I used to read all the Harry Potter books after the midnight launch and I'd be at least halfway through by the morning. I also generally have about 4-5 books on the go at once, I don't read one in entirety and then start another, I like to have a selection so I can pick what I'm in the mood for. Kindle is absolutely terrible/brilliant for enabling this (terrible because I have so many books that I have abandoned half read).

Oh ok phew that’s a bit of a relief! 😀

I've just counted up as you made me curious, and I have read over 40 parenting/pregnancy/birth books I say over 40, because I got to 42 and those are the ones I could remember/have record of... that's going back 13.5 years!

Some brilliant ones I'd forgotten about. What Mothers Do by Naomi Stadlen is absolutely fantastic, but don't read it until after your baby is born. In fact buy it second hand, read it as much as you need and then pass it on to another first time mum.

Bertie, how do you find time to read with your DCs, and your still youngest one is a toddler? I'm so impressed.

Pleased to report no side effects from my second Pfizer jab so far, touch wood. I am chilling out with Netflix and with a massive fan, it's been a lifesaver! xx

I read on my kindle/phone app. Often while waiting hours for DS2 to fall asleep XD or on the tram while going to pick him up from Kindergarten, which takes me about 2 hours every day. Sometimes while sitting with him while he plays trains or at the park etc. While waiting for doctors' appointments and while being monitored (I have to do 30 mins every 4 weeks) I do have a proper kindle, but I'm using the phone app much more at the moment because it's just always there and my phone is less easy for him to damage even if he kicks it out of my hand.

DS1 is pretty independent these days so doesn't need a lot of input. DH does a lot around the house so that doesn't really fall to me - actually I'm quite lazy around the house

I'm not working either, been signed off since about 6 weeks. I probably wouldn't have as much energy to read if I was working still. But that said, I tend to find reading a very low-energy activity - more so than watching TV for some reason.

We have our first NCT class today - in person!
Excited to see what it's like - will report back!
Seems like a good bunch from the WhatsApp group. My fiancé and I are not from the area so really hoping to make some good connections if possible (and learn as much as we can too )

@ame88

We have our first NCT class today - in person! Excited to see what it's like - will report back! Seems like a good bunch from the WhatsApp group. My fiancé and I are not from the area so really hoping to make some good connections if possible (and learn as much as we can too )

Tomorrow not today!

Girls, I found a decent quality nursing chair on Fb Marketplace for a very good price. It's a gliding type. Any experiences, please? Needed/not needed? Too chunky?

Background thoughts: I love the look of classic wood rocking chairs, but I don't want them whilst holding a newborn, so a classic rocker is no good for me. I don't like the feel of the upholstered rockers either and don't find them comfortable as the back is usually too low and in any event all of them are grey (I'm done with grey interiors for life).

So it's either buying a glider with a stool or buying a standard comfy armchair, or nothing at all if it's a waste of money.

Thoughts??? xx

I loved a glider! Babies really like the movement of them too. And much safer for little fingers than a rocking chair.